Initial applicator



Oct. 31, 1944- B. SALZBERG 2,361,501

INITIAL APPLICATOR Filed Jul 28, 1941 30 Illllii 29 I El. Z

lNVENTO R BENJAMIN SALZBERG ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 31, 1944 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE .2,a6 1,5o1@ I M INITIAL APPLIUATOR Benjamin Salzberg, New York, N'. Y. Application July 28', 1941, Serial No. 404,310

The invention relates to custom made initialled hosiery; to a set of initials or similar display characters particularly designed for this use, and to an applicator for securing the characters to hosiery or equivalent flexible support.

The invention contemplates the practice on the part of the salesperson at the hosiery counter'of a store, in applying to a purchased pair of hose those metal initials or similar characters which may be selected by the purchaser in somewhat the same manner as metal initials are at present applied to handbags, belts and other leather goods. The practice herein featured also resembles known practices in applying metal ini-' tials to bags, pocketbooks and the like, in that the lettersare supplied with prongs, passed through the leather and clinched in place.

The term character" as hereinafter used is' intended to designate a sheet metal stamping preferably of very thin gauge metal and having a form to represent any one of the letters of the alphabet, any one of the numeral digits, or any fanciful or decorative symbol used for identification of the person, his or her lodge or club, or for non-personal ornamental purposes.

The charactersare intended to be made as a one-piece stamping of an inexpensive, easily worked sheet metal, preferably a metal which has some slight degree of resiliency and-it is herein suggested that thin sheet brass. is such suitable material. However, the disclosure herein is particularly intended to lend itself to hosiery of the more expensive grade, and it is accordingly suggested that the characters be made of gold, silver, platinum or other expensive metals, and which characters may be recovered when the hosiery is discarded and reused simply by bend- I ing the prongs back intotheir original positions and. reinserting them in the applicator herein disclosed. e

Hosiery. and particularly women's stockings of the character now on the market, particularly objects the providing of a metalinitialled stock-' ing or hose which will be in no way deleteriously efiected in the act of securing the characters to the knitted fabric even'though the fabric be'of I fine and easily damaged texture.

Still another object of the invention is .to'proto provide a material amount of fabric loops or threads in the part of the fabric therebetween.

One way in' which these'objects are attained is to provide the characters'orat least the major part of each character, of straight strokes, and of concaved channel form on their rear sides, and arranged so that'as the clinching loop" is formed from the prongs the material is stretched across the adjacent portion of the channel, is crimped into the channel by the endportion's of the clinching'loop so that the fabric is pinched between'the tension loops and the side walls of the channel. a

'This has the effect ofsecuring the character to the frail flexible fabric by crimping as well as by a clinching action, and further provides a' a simple hand operated instrument in the form; of a pair of pliers which can be selectively loaded with any one of the characters formingthe set supplied with the instrument; which will hold the character in position therein while thedevice is being inverted by the operator in' the act of guiding the applicator to the desired point on the fabric where the character is to be'afiixed' and then by simple squeezing of the jawlik'e members together, the character is permanently and securely afiixed in placewhile the fabric'is being held from distortion or stretching'while clamped between the 'jaws' and on releasing of the manual pressure, all parts automatically becomefree. r

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an m-- spection of the accompanying drawing'and' i'n I Further, the loops so formed are spaced aparta' distance suiiicient" one'of the looped part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of device embodying the invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a stocking provided with a set of initials, and constituting; arr-.embodimentmf. the hosiery aspect of theinventiom': 1 5' Fig. 2 is a detailed showing in vertical section of the jaw elements of an applicator more fully shown in Fig. 3, illustrating the position of the parts when one of the characters is in 'pcsitiorrv flanges. 2.4. and 25 and normally projects the therein, and prior to the movement of the-jaws. towards their clinching position andtalien on :showmimFigflZj V the line 2--2 of Fig. 3;

i Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of thejore part of the applicator inverted from the position of its dievpartsa showrrainx Figs 2. with: therdie; elements shown intverticalrlongitudinal section;

and thus at; right; angles to the: showing: Fig.

2; and: illnstratingsthe position; at thee parts thestartzofi the clinchingropemtionzcr 45 is: an: enlarged view. in longitudinal seo-- tion at one Set; the; characters instance: the Ii" of: Fig.9 appliedzLto; the; fabric: exaggerated! in Lits dimensions amt illustratingxthearclation; of; the apartsa at the-conclusion: of: the: clinching. one

eration; 1

viewslooking upwardly to.-

wards: eiemenii: ofr. the applicators. as

viewedi imzrrrthe 111133.18: 54-5; of. Fig: 25 and: show-e ingin; dottedflinestheelocatiom wheres. the prongs firstjcontact. andi Figs: 5h. anch 6b; are; eacln plan.

downwardlyrfroma the; Mannie-+5;

theslmwingin; 5h disclosin 1 characters "Mimplace;,azndithefdiclosureinzFig. GbzShOW- ingthe character I"-in pi-ace:in;the%- pocket elseewhere: shown in 2; and

Figs3-,'T;..8 and 9.1m each perspective viewsnot oneror the complete: setrof alphabet. letters-'show- I ingtrespectivelyithei ntont:side-of;jaar., the rear!" side: oi: a T. andgthe front sideof: an: If; and" Fig. 10: is: a; transverse: sectional: view throughr any oflthewstrokes'of: the'letters as, for instance;

perportionof'the sleeve 22.

takemomthe line 109-411: of Figs;..7:and10;. and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged transverse sectionahview of one. of the} prongs turned into. an. adjacent cross-channel.- as: would he: formed whenone: of-

the prongsatrthe -headssofi the l or 8 is- The"; details-on constsurztlon on eachof. these initialsiin-its engagementwith. its iabric mounte ing, willibe deseribed in connection theap plicatoir andathechar acterswhiclr. fonmsthe setofinitials...

Re in fi hto type!and?ineiudin sJWWMLaniihtSa It iswaz rea tu-re; ot -thisdisclosuijerthat. the jaws are free from :proieetionspt any, their outer sides and are thus; capable oil' having the. outer ends at either jaw inserted betweeniclosehe lyina vers of, the stockingor .fabric.- without. catching on toe the same. These jaws are provided with. axiallyaligned sockets l4 and ll forr receiving .die; ele

mer ts.- hereinaften described and which; elements; are:- demountablyzsecureds-irt place; by means of" theshowingi in Fig-,- 3;; there-z is; discl esed aspair oi pliers 4% ot; thepanallei jawbearing flange 25.

binding screws 18 and 19. One of the die elements constitutes a plunger 20 fixed to its associated jaw I 5 and projecting towards the other jaw I4. The outer end of this plunger provides a flat character receiving seat 2|. The plunger is of non-circular and preferably rectangular form in cross section. A holder sleeve 22 is slidably but non-rotatably mounted for sliding movement on the plunger 20. The extent of this .movement is. limited. in. both directions by a pin and slot, form of stop. 23. The plunger 20 is provided with a spring bearing flange 24 and the sleeve 22 is likewise provided with a spring Coil spring 26 encircles the plunged-bears at opposite ends against the sleeve upwardly to the limit of its movement as Theupper portion of the sleeve projects above the seat 2| to form a character receiving pocket 21 outlined by the four walls forming. the upper portion of: the-;sleeve.-and= having the seat for-its bottomv when viewed. asinFig. 2. This pocket is. particularly dimensioned to receiveany. one. of the charatcers hereinafter more fully. described.

Thedie element ot the other jaw ldiorms an anvil 28:.with theexternal dimensions of the up-. On its activeface the anvil is provided with an endless: groove. 2e

rectangular in plan as shown in Figs. 5a andfiav and semicircular-or :U '-sh'aped .-in. cross section asshowrt in Figs. 2 and; 3.. Theouter-edge '30. of

this groove asa seen i11 Fig. 2,13 disposed oppositev the corresponding w-alls forming. the pocket-.11.

.The? portion of: they'anvil exteriorly. of the. groove.

and: the opposing uppen fiatedges of thesleeve 22 coact to forma fmir sidedl clampfor clamp.- ing therebetweenthe easily penetrable. and high- 1y. flexiblewashablefabric 3.! on.- WhiCh the char. actor. is :to, be. mounted.

The anvil and plunger are substantially within; the-projectedaoutlines of the two jaws andthe sleeve with its flange zhprojects only slightly.

outside of: said projected,outlines whereby the. :'-Z parts between the jaWs-ares-ubstantially confined tozthe smallvspacebetweenthe jaws.

All-of the characters irrespective. as to. what. may-be their visualappearancehare proportioned to fit'witha-sliding, snug fit-withinthe pocket 21. the plan of which. will hereinafter sometimes be,

referred to.-asxa dimensional: rectangle. All. of the characters intended to be, loaded-into this. applicatorv areof the same height dimension and all1 except the-"1 (see Figs. 6b and. 9.) areof. the

same width dimension. It is, of course, within the scope ofthisz disclosure tomake the charactersroftequab height andwidth. that is, capable of fitting within a. dimensional, square, butv the reater? heightv than. width proportions, herein suggested have the advantage of avoiding the improper locatingof, acharacter in the pocket and, from an aesthetic, viewpoint, the relatively. high charactersherein illustratedpresent a more pleasing appearance thanii they were of astrict- H lysquaredesign.

Itv 181a featureof this disclosure that. theletterv characters. are. formed. primarily, of straight of. fourstraight strokes" prongs asillustrated in Fi i and 11'. An artisticionm of-lettering. isprovided where the chan-. nelsare each formed of three. long .flatsides'as --illustratedjin,se ction inv Fig. 10, which give the appearance of an embossed effect when in position as in Fig. l.

This construction has that thedivergent sides 34 and 35 have at least a limited springing action which is capable of giving slightly outwardly to the pressure imposed thereon through the fabric as the prongs are moved into their final clamping position as shown in Fig. 11. The edges 36 form a neat fiat joint with the fabric when the initials are finally in position as shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 11.

Each character is provided with at least two prongs 31 which extend from the outer top and bottom edges of the exposed display or body portion 38 of the character. These prongs are so located that they are at, or at least adjacent to, the free ends of all of the strokes so as to avoid any loose edges of the body portion springing away from the fabric on which it is mounted. Initially, the prongs extend substantially at right angles to the plane of the body portion as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10, but are actually bent slightly outwardly from a true perpendicular; or, differently described, have their outer, free ends spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the spacing of their inner ends attached to the body portion. These prongs thus form friction fingers for engaging opposing walls of the pocket as shown in Fig. 2 so as to maintain the characters in position during the period of time when the device i turned upside down from the Fig. 2 into the Fig. 3 position.

In operation and assuming that there is in front of the salesperson a set of letters and, for example, that the purchaser indicates that she Wishes the initials H, T, K, aifixed to one or both of the pair of stockings just purchased. The operator will first selectfrom a partitioned cabinet the letter H and insert the same with the body portion 38 down and the prongs 5| uppermost into the pocket 21 of the applicator, as shown in Fig. 2. A little pressure will be sufficient to locate the selected character firmly bottomed on the seat 2|. She will then open up the top of the stocking and by reversing the applicator from its loading position in Fig. 2 so that she can readily locate and guide the selected letter into the proper pos tion on the outside of the welt II as suggested in Fig. 1. Then by squeezing the handles of the pliers, the holder sleeve 22 and anvil 28 will approach each other clamping the selected portion of the fabric firmly stretched in place as indicated in Fig. 3. Then, by a continued pressure on the handle ends, the anvil moves upwardly causing the Straight prongs to first penetrate the fabric as indicated in Fig. 3. Further pressure causes each of the prongs to engage in the outer side edge 30 of the opposing length of the groove 29. The groove acts to turn each prong end circularly upon itself, penetrating the fabric for a second time, as best shown in Fig. 11, and in spaced relation to the first penetration so as to receive a material number of threads or fabric loops between the two points of penetration. As the pressure continues. the free ends of the prongs curl upwardly and inwardly as indithe further advantage in each prong, theflexibility of the fabric permitting this action. During this entire crimping operation, the fabric surrounding the area being acted upon is held in a clamped position between the anvil and sleeve under pressure of the spring 26.

Releasing manual pressure on the plier handles,

permits the jaws to retreat to their initial posi-,

r desired character, such as the "T and the op- -;eration is repeated as described for each succeeding character afiixed to the fabric.

By means of the applicator and its associated characters thus described, it is possible to make up an initialled stocking-quickly with the assurance that the initials will remain permanently fixed to the stocking without damaging the stocking either in the act of applying the initials thereto or in subsequent laundering.

It is particularly noted that all of the characters are accurately located in place, except possibly the I so that the operator quickly becomes skilled in accurately locating the initials in any desired relative relation as, for instance, on the diagonal line shown in Fig. 1. Even in the case of the I, dependence can be placed upon the outward spring of the prongs 31 as they fit within the pocket of the applicator to insure the proper 'location of the "I" in the desired assembly of letters. Even in the case of the I, it has sufficient width to defeat any possibility of it becoming canted or otherwise disarranged in the pocket 21.

While the disclosure is illustrated in connection with a single layer of knitted fabric in order to emphasize the adaptability of the invention to the thin fabric for which it is intended, it is obviously within the scope of the disclosure to cated in Figs. 4 and 11, bridging across the portion of the fabric stretched across the adjacent portion of the groove 33. This has the effect of forming of each prong a metal retainin loop 39 which clamps the fabric between itself and the apply the initials of Fig. l to a double layer form of welt I l.

The retaining loops 39 present smooth, rounded surfaces exposed at the interior of the stocking and the characters are all free of pointed ends or edges which might catch in other apparel or scratch the user.

While there have been shown, described and pointed out in the annexed claim, -certain novel features .of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions. substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I'claim:

In a device for selectively apply ng different pronged letter characters rectangular in plan to a fabric, the combination of a pair of pliers of the parallel jaw type, a pair of coacting die elements,

one for each jaw of the pliers and projecting from its associated jaw towards the other, one of said elements constituting a plunger secured at one end to one of the jaws of the pliers, being rectangular in cross section in the part projecting from its associated jaw and providing at its other end a character receiving seat rectangular in plan, a holder sleeve having a bore rectangular in cross section extending therethrough in which the plunger is fitted and provided'with a spring bearing flange in spaced relation to both ends, a coil spring closely encircling the plunger andplunger, said side provided with an endless groove-grectangular in plan and U-shaped in cross section, the outer edges of each of thefour l0- sides ofthe rectangular groove being resgeotirely in the same plane which contains the": adjacent.

wall of: thesbore ofr thesleeve and theportiorrof saidside exterior-1y of: the groove coasting; with the sleeve toform a, spring pressed clamp for holding the fabric while the charactersfor the time being, in the pocket, is being applied. tethefabric. v v

BENJAMIN StALZBER 

